IN STATEMENT – EU EOM Election Observation Update.
The European Union Election Observation Mission (EU EOM) says the quality and transparency of Zambia’s 2026 election results tabulation deteriorated significantly after the Electoral Commission of Zambia temporarily suspended the counting and announcement of results nationwide.
In its latest election observation update, the EU EOM said results tabulation was conducted at 226 constituency-level totalling centres, with the process still ongoing at some centres at the time of its assessment.
The mission noted that on August 14, a day after polling, ECZ suspended the counting and announcement of election results across the country between 12:00 and 18:00 hours, citing violent incidents targeting polling staff and allegations of ballot box theft in some areas.
However, the EU EOM said no further details were provided regarding where the incidents occurred or whether they were isolated cases or part of a broader pattern.
EU observers were present at 64 totalling centres and initially assessed the tabulation process positively. Before the suspension, 43 percent of observations rated the process as “very good”, while polling agents and citizen observers were present at almost all centres monitored and were able to follow the entry of results.
The mission said the situation changed considerably after the suspension was lifted late on August 14.
According to the EU EOM, the transparency of tabulation was subsequently assessed as “bad” or “very bad” in 12 percent of observed totalling centres, while those rated “very good” fell to 27 percent.
The mission further reported that in 42 percent of observations after the suspension, totalling centre staff did not immediately record results on tally sheets after they were announced by returning officers, compared with 30 percent before the suspension.
It also said the proportion of observations in which officials ensured that figures entered into the digital results management system corresponded with figures recorded on tally sheets dropped from 100 percent before the suspension to 81 percent afterwards.
EU observers further reported extended breaks in the tabulation process in nearly half of their observations, with returning officers appearing to wait for instructions from ECZ headquarters before announcing results.
The mission also raised concern over what it described as a heavy military presence at totalling centres following the suspension, saying most interlocutors considered the presence intimidating. It said fewer political party agents and citizen observers were consequently present at some centres than before the suspension.
Meanwhile, the EU EOM said it received reports of violence affecting the tabulation process in some parts of the country.
In Lusaka, the mission said an armed group attacked the Makeni totalling centre on August 15 and took almost all polling station result forms.
In Central Province, EU observers interviewed what the mission described as various credible witnesses who alleged that UPND cadres raided two of Kabwe’s three totalling centres on August 16, seriously disrupting the tabulation process.
The mission has also questioned the level of transparency surrounding the publication of election results.
It noted that although ECZ launched a results website a day before the elections, partial results were not published on the platform. ECZ also confirmed on election day that it would not publish results broken down by individual polling station.
The EU EOM said publishing polling station-level results is an important transparency measure because it allows political parties, observers and members of the public to compare results recorded at individual polling stations with those ultimately announced by the electoral body.
According to the mission, ECZ declared preliminary presidential results shortly before 03:00 hours on August 18.
The EU EOM has consequently renewed its call for maximum transparency in the electoral process and urged ECZ to publish disaggregated results at national level, broken down by polling station, saying such a measure could help strengthen public confidence in the outcome.
The mission says it remains in Zambia and continues monitoring post-election developments across all 10 provinces.
Here is the Statement:
EU EOM ELECTION OBSERVATION UPDATE:
19th August 2026
Polling station results tabulation took place in 226 totalling centres at constituency level and is still ongoing in some remaining totalling centres. On 14 August 2026, the day after elections, the Electoral Commission Zambia (ECZ) suspended the counting and announcement of election results’ nationwide from 12:00 to 18:00. This was stated to be due to violent incidents targeting polling staff and, in some instances, allegations of ballot box theft. No further details were provided on the locations and how systematic or isolated these incidents were.
The EU EOM has had observers present for the tabulation in 64 totalling centres. Until the suspension, results tabulation was assessed as ‘very good’ in 43 per cent of the EOM’s observations. Polling agents and citizen observers were present in almost all totalling centres observed and followed results entry.
However, after the lifting of the suspension late on 14 August, EU EOM observers assessed that the overall conduct of tabulation deteriorated significantly. (1) In a high number, the totalling centres’ staff failed to record the results on the tally sheet as soon as they were announced by the returning officer, as prescribed by the electoral process regulations. (2)
The number of observations in which totalling centres staff ensured that the figures entered in the digital results management kit corresponded with those on the tally sheet dropped after the suspension. (3) EU EOM observers reported extended breaks during the results tabulation process in almost half of observations, as the returning officers seemed to wait and receive instructions from ECZ headquarters before announcing results. Further, a heavy military presence in totalling centres following the suspension was reportedly intimidating to most interlocutors and resulted in the number of party agents and citizen observers present at totalling centres being lower than before.
The EU EOM also received reports of violent incidents at some totalling centres. In Lusaka, an armed group attacked the totalling centre in Makeni and took almost all polling stations result forms on 15 August. In Central province, various credible witnesses interviewed by observers, reported that alleged UPND cadres raided two out of three totalling centres in Kabwe on 16 August, fundamentally disrupting the tabulation process.
Having launched a results website the day before elections, the ECZ did not publish partial results on it. On election day, the ECZ confirmed that they would not publish disaggregated polling stations results, despite it being an important measure of transparency as it allows everyone to compare polling station results to those announced by the ECZ. The ECZ declared preliminary presidential results shortly before 03:00, in the middle of the night on 18 August.
The EU EOM repeats its call for maximal transparency in this, as in other parts of the process, and recalls the confidence-building benefit of publishing disaggregated results, broken down by polling station, by the ECZ at the national level.
The EU EOM remains in country and continues to observe with nationwide coverage in all 10 provinces of Zambia.
(1) At this point, the transparency of the results tabulation was assessed by EU EOM observers as ‘bad’ or ‘very bad’ on a four-point scale in 12 per cent of totalling centres observed, with only 27 per cent ‘very good’.
(2) This was 42 per cent of observations, compared to 30 per cent pre-suspension.
(3) This was true in 81 per cent of observations, compared to 100 per cent prior to the suspension.
https://www.eeas.europa.eu/eom-zambia-2026/eu-eom-election-observation-update_en?s=410554